Clean Energy

Electricity trick or treat?

Economy/ Energy/ Environment/ Opinion

Electricity trick or treat?

Pro and con: Do competitive electricity suppliers help or hurt in Massachusetts?

By and , , , , , 0 Comments

Well-intentioned law has been corrupted by con men BY DANIEL STEVENS AS SUMMER SWINGS into high gear, our electric bills do, too. Modern life dictates that we need power to keep us cool. To try and reduce electricity prices for people living in Massachusetts, a few years ago, the state Legislature created a program called(...)

Read More »

With more control, communities choose clean energy

Energy/ Opinion

With more control, communities choose clean energy

Aggregation saves money while meeting climate goals

By , , , 0 Comments

ACROSS MASSACHUSETTS, COMMUNITIES are taking control over where their energy comes from. By leveraging local bulk purchasing power, more than 100 towns and cities in the Bay State have increased the amount of renewable energy they buy each year, while at the same time producing savings for consumers. Community Choice Energy (CCE, also known as(...)

Read More »

The Download/ Politics

Baker hits some turbulence

By , , , , 3 Comments

Suddenly, Gov. Charlie Baker doesn’t seem so invulnerable. He may still be the most popular governor in the country, but over the last few weeks Baker has hit some serious turbulence. An agency he controls botched the rollout of a new approach to health insurance for 430,000 state and municipal workers. Then his administration awarded(...)

Read More »

A question of access: Shifting the transportation conversation

Modernizing Mobility/ Tracking Transportation/ Environment/ Transportation/ Opinion

A question of access: Shifting the transportation conversation

Equity, climate, and choice are keys to developing a workable plan for the future

By , , , , , , , , 0 Comments

TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY matters to everyone who commutes, travels, or runs errands on a daily basis, and these everyday trips create a sense that we are all experts on transportation. For creative problem solvers, every traffic jam, transit delay, confusing intersection, or missing bike lane connection provides an opportunity to brainstorm possible solutions. But what(...)

Read More »

How now cow power?

Economy/ Energy/ Technology/ Winter 2018

How now cow power?

Cows providing fuel for electricity

By , , , , , 0 Comments

IN A RURAL valley south of Deerfield, power lines strung on new poles run along a stretch of muddy gravel between the main road and the interior of Bar-Way Farm, where hundreds of cows provide electricity along with their milk. Manure from the cows is pumped into a massive, red, airtight tank that acts like(...)

Read More »

More pipelines aren’t the answer

Energy/ Environment/ Opinion

More pipelines aren’t the answer

The weather outside is frightful – and so is our over-reliance on natural gas

By , , , 16 Comments

NEW ENGLAND IS in the clutches of a frigid winter. This is putting demands on our energy resources and driving up electricity prices during the few hours of the day when consumer electricity use is highest. Concerns over these temporary price spikes are warranted, particularly given their impacts on our most vulnerable. But year after(...)

Read More »

Time to revisit the need for more gas pipelines

Economy/ Energy/ Environment/ Opinion

Time to revisit the need for more gas pipelines

Renewable energy cannot meet demand without help

By , , , 3 Comments

NEW ENGLAND’S GOVERNORS, who for years called for increasing the delivery capacity of natural gas into the region, have largely gone silent. Today, the region is seeing the consequences with Bloomberg reporting December 27 that “spot prices more than tripled … and turned the region into the world’s priciest market.” Natural gas prices last week(...)

Read More »

Businesses want stronger clean energy mandates

Energy/ Environment/ Opinion

Businesses want stronger clean energy mandates

Corporations call on state to raise the renewable portfolio standard

By , , , , 2 Comments

FOR CENTURIES, MASSACHUSETTS has been a national hub for innovation. With cutting edge academic institutions, a superb health care sector, and a thriving real estate market, the commonwealth is an excellent place to do business. Massachusetts is also home to a rapidly growing clean energy sector, which has allowed commercial real estate service providers like(...)

Read More »

Mass. citizens point the way on climate change

Energy/ Environment/ Politics/ Opinion

Mass. citizens point the way on climate change

State leaders and policymakers need to get on same page as voters

By and , , , , , 1 Comment

WE LIVE IN a time when the way we power our lives is literally putting our survival at stake. We’re seeing an increase in deadly natural disasters, glaciers melting at a worrisome rate, and American states and territories at risk of disappearing from the map due to rising sea levels. Yet the Trump administration seems(...)

Read More »

Northern Pass hits another obstacle

Energy/ Environment

Northern Pass hits another obstacle

EPA calls for another 40 miles of proposed power line to go underground

By , , , , 1 Comment

THE TROUBLED NORTHERN PASS power line project was dealt another blow as the federal Environmental Protection Agency called for an additional 40-mile stretch of the transmission line to be buried underground rather than disrupting wetlands and wildlife through northern New Hampshire. In a letter to the Army Corps of Engineers, which is in charge of(...)

Read More »

1 2